prEdator
by Hanede
Summary: [NieR: Automata, Pre-Game, Heavy Spoilers] Year 11943. 2B and 9S are sent into a dangerous mission that brings him closer to understanding the true nature of their relationship.


**pr[E]dator**

 **► log 11943_0501_164821 |**

"Ugh!" 9S complained as, once again, his foot was caught in a root making him fall over face first into the forest ground.

2B stopped in her tracks slightly ahead, but didn't turn around to look at him. She waited patiently while he grumbled and picked himself up, and started walking again once he was back on his feet.

"I hate having to walk through such a thick forest!" He complained like a child as he reluctantly started following her again. "Couldn't they have let us borrow some flight units? We'd already be there by now..." Not to mention he wouldn't be all covered in mud and moss.

"Our rank is not high enough, and neither is the priority of our current mission, to demand expensive equipment". Of course it was easy for her to say that, she had seemingly no problem traversing the woods. Her movements were as graceful right then as they were at the battlefield, never losing her footing despite the uneven terrain. Not to mention she showed no signs of fatigue.

He sighed in a defeated tone "I know, I know..." He wished she would at least share his discomfort.

They walked in silence for a long time. He was too tired to start a conversation and she never did unless it was really necessary. They were following a river upstream, heading to the other side of the mountain were they were to meet with a small YoRHa squadron and wait for further instructions.

They had been walking all day without rest and 9S felt like he would get a system failure any second. A Scanner model like him wasn't made for long periods of mechanical activity at all, so he was in a particularly foul mood.

9S stopped in his tracks as his visor caught a glimpse of something unusual through the trees.

"2B!" He spoke in a low tone, trying to keep his voice quiet. She paused as if waiting for him to continue. "2B come here!" He was suddenly in a much better mood than before — almost excited — which was enough to make her turn around questioningly.

"What is it?" She asked in her usual tone, but he quickly hushed her and just motioned for her to come closer. In two strides she was already at his side.

"Look." His voice was very quiet as he pointed between the trees to the other side of the river, hoping she wouldn't scold him for getting sidetracked.

A creature stood there, a big male deer with a striking white coat and antlers. It almost seemed to be shining against the darker background, its fur a surreal shade of white for an animal that roamed the dirty woods.

"It's beautiful." He beamed as he spoke in the same low voice as to not alert the creature of their presence.

She seemed to glance at him through her black visor and the corner of her mouth twitched up almost imperceptibly. He had learned to call that a smile, as he couldn't expect her to make a more noticeable expression.

Her face was back to normal as she looked at the stag. "It looks so... fragile."

He wasn't sure what to make of her words as they stood there watching the animal. Its ears turned as it looked around and for a moment he feared the deer had noticed them and would run away, but after a moment it calmed down and lowered its head to start drinking from the river. It was fascinating to watch a true living creature in such detail, its movements unlike those of machines or androids. So natural, so alive.

Suddenly a shrill roar ran through the forest, and he could only watch in shock as an animal his archives recognized as a puma lunged at the deer, sinking its gleaming fangs into the white fur of its neck. The stag kicked once in a futile attempt to either run away or defend itself, before falling lifeless as dark red blood started flowing down, covering its once white body in a gruesome scene.

He winced and looked away. "Oh... that... wasn't pretty."

However 2B still stared at the animals, expresionless. He knew better than anyone that she wasn't as cold as she always wanted to seem, but her lack of reaction was still unnerving.

"Do you blame the cat? It's doing what it was made to." Her tone was as unreadable as her face.

"Well... I guess you're right. I mean, it's the food chain, right? If predators didn't kill herbivores, there would be too many of them and they would eat all vegetation, then this wouldn't be a forest. Still..." He looked back at the other side of the river. The cat had dragged its prey a few feet away from the water and was already eating it, face covered in blood as it pulled flesh from the carcass, guts and bones becoming visible underneath. It made him feel uncomfortable, though he couldn't manage to find a logical explanation. Perhaps it was just part of the general human culture all androids were programmed with.

"Right..." She let the word hang ominously, as if it had a special meaning he wasn't aware of. "We should keep going. You rested enough already, am I wrong?" Her tone was slightly accusing. She had seen right through him, he had taken advantage of the situation to take a rest from the long walk.

He groaned as he followed after her, trying to mimic her steps so he didn't lose his footing again. They were silent during the rest of the trip.

 **► log 11943_0501_193335 |**

Just when 9S thought he couldn't take another step, they reached a small cottage hidden in the woods. The location had been marked on their map as it had been used a few days prior by the YoRHa squadron they were about to meet with.

He had never before been so happy to simply sit down. He swiftly kicked his boots off and removed his jacket as he let his body relax on the wooden floor. It was completely empty inside, no furniture or separate rooms, but it was still heaven for him.

"Why are you undressing?"

"I-I'm not! I just..." His pulse shot up for unknown reasons and he could feel the low humming of his internal fans turning on to deal with overheating. "It feels better to rest like this..." He trailed off as she sat down next to him, her movements are graceful as always. His gaze focused on her legs — well, her feet. "In any case, aren't you uncomfortable walking in heels through the woods all day?"

Her head fell slightly to one side, as if in thought. Coming from her it was a surprisingly expressive gesture. "Not at all. I was designed to fight while wearing heels. In comparison, walking requires much less energy."

"That's not the point..." He sighed in defeat, there was no way she would agree with him. "At times like this I wish I had the stamina of a Battler model like you..." Getting no answer, he returned to laying on his back, trying to rest.

After a few minutes, something entered his field of vision. 2B's gloved hand was hovering above his head and coming closer very slowly, as if aiming to touch him. However it stopped midway, clenched into a fist and then retreated back out of view. Perhaps she thought he was sleeping? However he was very much awake. A pang of disappointment washed over him and he wondered why. Maybe he was just curious about how her touch would have felt.

He had always been... drawn to her, since they first met only a few weeks prior. Well, there was no denying she was beautiful, stunningly so, but it was a hollow feeling. All androids were designed following what humans had considered "beautiful". Since his own beauty standards came directly from the general human data he was programmed with, there was logically no way he wouldn't consider any female model "beautiful". Furthermore, her physical appearance had little individuality. There were dozens of other models with her exact same face, just a few changes to hair color or style.

They were also programmed with certain personality traits, like his own curiosity which was shared by all Scanner models. However, unlike their bodies, personality changed easily depending on the circumstances they lived through. And 2B's personality was interesting, to say the least. She appeared extremely stoic, sometimes even cold, a façade he had believed for a while when they had just met. However every now and then she showed glimpses of emotion; a surprisingly gentle gesture, the shadow of a smile tugging at her lips, genuine worry about his wellbeing, a familiarity he wasn't sure what to make of. All hidden behind an expressionless mask.

She was mysterious, and for an android specifically made for gathering information, that was enough to obsess over. What had she lived through? Was she actually sweet and caring, just rigorously following orders that forbid showing emotion? Or perhaps in the past she was much more open, then went through some sort of hardship that made her close herself to others? He desperately wanted to know more about her, but there was no way he could ask her about it. He could just hope that someday they would be close enough for her to be comfortable telling him everything.

When his consciousness was just about to shut down, he heard the familiar ring of an incoming call. He reluctantly sat up and looked around for his Pod, but realized it was actually 2B's that had recieved the call. He scooted closer to shamelessly look over her shoulder at the transmission.

She didn't seem to mind the blatant violation of her privacy. "2B Here."

The video was still loading, so they were both taken aback when it was not 6O's cheerful voice that answered them. "Greetings."

"Commander?" She had never contacted them before, at least not that he remembered.

"Indeed. I apologize for interrupting you in your current mission," her voice was as stoic as ever, though she did sound apologetic, "But there is a change of plans."

"What is it?"

"The YoRHa squadron you were going to meet with — one unit was found helping the enemy. She managed to escape with the help of another member of the squadron. They have been both branded as traitors."

9S groaned mentally, wondering if all that walking he had endured had been in vain. Worse, would they have to backtrack? He made an effort not to interrupt the conversation and kept listening.

"So what are our current orders?"

"I need you to hunt them down."

"Are there... are there no other YoRHa units better suited for the task?" 2B's voice was slightly strained, it was almost imperceptible.

"There are none in the area. The rest of the traitors's former squadron were injured trying to restrain them, and are in no condition to follow after them. These fugitives are top priority, and I need them executed as soon as possible."

He could hear 2B clench her fist, leather crunching softly in the silent room. It was obvious she did not want to accept this mission for whatever reason, but as soldiers they never had a choice.

"... Understood." Following her confirmation, both their pods recieved a set of coordinates.

"This is where their black box signals are coming from." The Commander paused for a moment. "The traitors's identities are 4H and 6E. Be careful." That marked the end of the transmission.

2B was silent, but he could tell she was very tense.

"What a change of plans, huh? Never thought we'd be sent to look for fugitives." He got no response. "But... 6E? I didn't even know there was an E type. What does the E stand for?" He continued trying to get a reaction from her to lighten the mood, but was unsuccessful. If anything, she seemed more troubled than before.

"It's... They are units that take care of traitors." She spoke slowly as if every word was difficult to say.

"Huh... never heard of them. Well, I guess it makes sense that Command would be secretive about such a unit..." He spoke mostly to himself.

2B was quiet for a few seconds, "We should be leaving now. It's a top priority mission."

"What? But I just laid down..." He complained, though he had probably been resting for half an hour already.

"You can stay and rest. I'll take care of things."

He didn't like the serious tone in her voice at all. "Don't joke about that. I'm your support unit, right? I can't let you go alone."

She seemed to consider whether his answer made her feel better or worse. In the end she sighed, "Okay, then get up."

"Five more minutes!" He rolled over so his back was facing her, ending the discussion.

"... Alright." Though he couldn't see her face, her tone was softer than usual.

 **► log 11943_0501_210812 |**

2B and 9S walked for a long time — well, long for him anyway. As expected she made no effort at starting a conversation, which gave him time to think. He was curious about 2B's reaction to the mission, perhaps he would be able to get a glimpse at her past. She seemed to be deeply bothered about encountering a type E. Well, it did make sense, if those units were created to kill traitors then they ought to be deadly and dangerous to deal with. Then again, he had never seen 2B lose the upper hand in any kind of battle, if anyone was deadly, it was her. He figured there must be something else. Perhaps in her past she had a bad experience involving a type E? Something like one of them killing a friend of hers... Did 2B even have any friends? He knew so little about her from before they were partnered. Maybe she did, but they were no longer alive. Did she consider him a friend?

He had to stop thinking about other topics as they reached a small building, pretty similar to the cottage where they had stopped to rest. They could make out some voices coming from inside, it was probably the place. 2B walked in front of him, almost protectively, sword ready in her hand.

Once they reached the door, she stood in front of it and seemed to consider her options while he waited patiently. She unexpectedly kicked the door, startling him, but it didn't budge. 2B! He wanted to scream at her but contained himself.

They could hear some hushed whispers and then steps on the wooden floor. A female android opened the door, blocking the view of the inside. "Hello? How may I help you?" Her voice was tense, perhaps even sarcastic. She was obviously aware of why they were there.

"Are you YoRHa unit 6E?" 2B asked bluntly. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"...Indeed. Were you looking for me?" She smiled but there was animosity in her tone.

"Yes. You and YoRHa unit 4H were reported as traitors to YoRHa."

That finally got a stronger reaction from her, "We're not! They don't know what they are talking about! 4H... She did nothing wrong! She's just... a sweet girl that wants to help others more than anything." Her affectionate words started growing somber, "But I guess if our teammates didn't understand it... you wouldn't either."

As she grew more agressive, 9S subtly prepared himself to start hacking in case it was needed — as a Scanner he had no close-range weapons so it was the only way he could help. She looked and sounded like a combat type that could put up a fight, the hilt of a sword poking from where it rested on her back.

"If 4H was helping the enemy, then she was indeed a traitor and it was your duty to take care of her," 2B said in an accusing tone, tightening her grip on the hilt of her own sword.

"How do you..." She paused as if realizing something he didn't quite understand himself. "Ah, I see how it is." 2B tensed visibly. "So, you're just like me?"

"I'm nothing like you," she growled in an unusual display of emotion.

"I wonder about that!" In a flash, 6E had unsheathed her sword and stabbed deep into his shoulder, causing him to scream in both pain and surprise.

"9S!" Her voiced was laced with raw worry and despair like he had never heard before, not from her and not from anyone else. 2B's movements were as quick as her opponent's as she ran her blade through 6E's arm, separating it from her body and causing the other android to jump back.

The sword impaling his shoulder disappeared in a flash of pixels as it returned to 6E's back, her severed arm falling to his feet. Sparks accompanied the low buzz coming from her forearm where 2B's sword had sliced, electric current trying to find its way through a broken circuit.

Despite her poor condition, she laughed. "Just like I thought. I pity you. We share the same pain. Who is your real enemy though? Those you were programmed to hate, or those that bring you nothing but despair?" She grabbed a sword with her left hand.

2B clenched her teeth and readied her sword for another strike, but everyone's attention shifted as a fourth voice spoke up from the door frame.

"Six!" She looked like a Healer unit, so 9S guessed she had to be 4H. Looking at 6E's injured arm, she gasped, "Six are you—"

"You idiot!" The combat unit turned around to look at her. Even though her tone was harsh, there was obvious familiarity and worry in it, "I told you to stay insi—"

6E herself was interrupted mid-sentence by a clash of metal as 2B took advantage of the distraction to impale her chest, blade easily piercing through. Balance system no longer working, 6E fell lifelessly when 2B pulled her sword out, steel covered in a red fluid. With a wet sound the same liquid started ebbing from 6E's injured chest and pooling around her corpse.

9S was shocked from the sight, enough to forget about the pain on his shoulder. Why was 6E bleeding? Or at least something similar to it. He knew androids contained liquid inside for thermoregulation — their systems didn't work efficiently under extreme temperatures — but he had never seen one injured so badly before. He had hurt his limbs a few times (the most recent being about a minute ago) but below the artificial skin there were only metallic components. Was it because 6E had been impaled through her chest? It looked gruesome, too similar to the dead deer. Lightheaded, he fell to his knees. No, it was even worse. There was an uncomfortable feeling at the base of his neck — he had no digestive system, yet he still felt the need of throwing up the contents of an inexistent stomach.

2B on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Her right hand had been splashed with blood when digging the blade into the other's body, and small red speckles covered her clothes and even her face. "You can't escape this curse so easily...", she breathed either to the dead body or to herself, he wasn't sure. She then lifted her gaze to the figure frozen on the doorframe.

4H seemed as shocked by the situation as he was, her voice desperate. "No... Please!"

2B's heeled soles left small red footprints as she walked to 4H in two fast strides, her bloodied blade killing the Healer unit with the same ease as her companion. This time she let the sword rest there and kneeled down to take a deep breath. "Pod. Black box signals."

"Processing. Black box signals for YoRHa units 6E and 4H have been lost. Only black box signals in a 1km perimeter come from YoRHa units 2B and 9S."

"Open a channel to the Commander." Her voice was expressionless, as if going through routine. Once the transmission was up, she spoke. "Reporting mission status. Units 6E and 4H have been executed without issue."

"Good work. You can go back to your previous assignment."

"Roger." She sighed tiredly and got up, not seeming to mind the fact that she was covered in blood from both of her kills. She turned around to look at 9S, still on his knees and clutching his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Her voice had lost all trace of aggression or coldness. It was soft, genuinely concerned.

"Y-Yes, it's nothing." He got up to prove his point. He wasn't seriously injured, but his voice was shaky as he was deeply distressed by the latest events.

Their attention shifted to a sound coming from inside the house, similar to the grinding of a machine's joints. It was enough for 2B to go back to a battle stance.

Unceremoniously kicking 4H's body aside, she made her way inside the building. The floor they had to walk through was completely covered with the Healer's blood, much to 9S's dismay as he couldn't avoid staining his boots.

They crossed another door and reached a second, mostly empty room. There were three small sized machines, about as tall as an android's waist, huddled together in a corner. They looked at 2B when she entered the room, but made no move to attack or flee from her. "Ssszzzz... Trrrrr?" they screached uninteligible, annoying noise.

There wasn't much thinking to do, as 2B sliced two of them with a single swing of her sword. 9S started hacking the last one, feeling useless for his lack of contribution on the previous fight. He managed to complete the hacking successfully despite his distracted state, though the machine was already half-dead from 2B's attack when he finished. He scanned the scrap metal with an uncharacteristic lack of interest, noticing absentmindedly that they showed signs of field repairs as if an adroid had performed maintenance on them. Odd.

"Let's get going" 2B broke the silence and started walking back outside.

"Right" His response wasn't as energetic as usual, as his mind was full. He felt awful about the fate of the two androids 2B had killed, but was even more concerned about her.

 **► log 11943_0503_092724 |**

He didn't even complain on their way to meet the YoRHa squadron. They gave them a place to rest and perform maintenance, including cleaning all the blood and fixing the injury on his shoulder.

Who was really 2B? He kept analyzing their meeting with 6E and 4H, and always reached the same conclusion: she had to be a type E, or at least had some sort of relation to them. First thing, if there was an unit that excelled in killing other units, then it was suicidal to send a different type to fight them. Like fighting water with fire. He had first considered the possibility that he and 2B were sent simply because there was no type E in the surrounding area and she was a very skilled Battler android, but some things still didn't match. She had killed 6E in a single hit, as if she had done it before. 4H, being a Healer unit, was clearly at disadvantage in any kind of combat, but she didn't even have the chance to fight back. 2B had been way too efficient.

Sure, there was also the chance that 6E was holding back. Her attack against him had been fast and unexpected, she could have killed him in one shot had she wanted to, but chose a non-lethal spot on purpose. However her talk about being similar to 2B was a dead giveaway. He would think she was just bluffing, but from 2B's reaction it didn't seem that way. Escaping her curse. From that phrasing, 2B probably hated killing others. On the other hand, she seemed unfazed by her actions at the cottage, and he already knew she wasn't that good at hiding emotion. Turns out even if he learned something new about her, it only raised more questions.

9S tried to forget about the topic for the moment when 2B told him they had new orders. He would learn sooner or later, he figured.

The YoRHa squadron had discovered an ancient building close to their camp that apparently contained important information, but it was all encrypted and they had no Scanner model to decipher it, so he and 2B were sent to investigate. It was refreshing to actually be able to do what he liked the most, and it sounded like a good find. He could already feel his spirits lifting when they reached the entrance, but 2B stopped a small distance away.

"Go in front. I'll be useless if there are no enemies around." The area had already been cleared by the previous group. "I'll watch your back." 2B's voice was pretty flat, but he figured she had just fallen back to her cold mask, and didn't give it much thought. He was too excited about the matter at hand, and practically skipped inside.

The place was a library of sorts, shelves full of books in a big room. He smiled childishly as he looked through the text, it was indeed in symbols he hadn't seen before, but as a high-end Scanner he managed to decode with relative ease. 2B just stood there behind him as he sifted through book after book not paying attention to anything else. It was info about human culture, specifically about its fall to the incurable illness that had made them flee to the moon. As he kept going, the code started becoming more and more complicated, but the challenge only increased his motivation. Then something caught his eye. Extinction?.

2B mumbled something in an uncharacteristic tone, low enough that he wasn't quite sure it hadn't been his imagination. However he was too shocked about what he was reading to pay attention to anything else. Humanity had actually gone extinct? How? Why? The dates on the book were from before the creation of YoRHa...

He felt something on his back and his body jerked involuntarily. The page he was reading was splattered with red dots, and he could see a bloodied blade sprouting from his chest, surrounded by warning messages from his HUD before his vision went black.

Everything suddenly dawned on him. What had 2B said just before? "Sleep well", her voice was broken but he had never heard so much emotion put into two words. Nor would he ever again.

He had to admire her work. Just like her movements on the battlefield, her killing blow had been full of beauty and grace.

Just like a lover knows the exact way to touch their partner, she knew the exact place to pierce with her blade. It had been quick and painless.

Ah, she was truly made to kill. Can you blame the cat for doing what it was made to?

He hated her. It was hard to feel anything else for your own murderer. However as much as he hated her, he also pitied her. As much as he wanted to kill her, he also wanted to hold her close.

He should be happy. Even in his last moments, he finally understood her, something he had wanted since they first met.

Yes, he finally understood.

Just like the puma and the deer,

They were, forever and always,

Predator and prey.

 **► log end |**


End file.
